The 2018 McAfee Labs Threat Report has revealed an astronomical increase in crypto mining malware activity over the past 12 months: around 4,000 percent — simultaneously with crypto rise in popularity and acceptance.
According to the report the sharp rise began between the last quarter of 2017 and the first quarter of 2018. Then, on the second quarter of this year the numbers declined — only to hike again in the third quarter.
2018’s third quarter alone registered a 71 percent rise in crypto mining malware.
Crypto-criminals are targeting miners with new cryptojacking malware — namely through messenger services like Telegram and Slack. Their focus: miners who lack security, like the ones using “routers or IoT devices such as IP cameras or video recorders as crypto miners”.
McAfee Labs is an American software company focused in cybersecurity. It is well-known for its antivirus software.
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